Portret van een onbekende oude vrouw 1744 - 1780

Simon Klapmuts created this etching of an unknown old woman at an unknown date. The work encourages us to consider the social conditions that shape artistic production. The woman’s downcast gaze and simple clothing point to the realities of everyday life for many in Dutch society. Was she a member of the lower classes? What was her social status? And what can this image tell us about the role of women in the Netherlands at the time? As a historian, I’m particularly interested in the ways institutions like the art market and the art academy impact the kinds of images that get made and circulated. To understand Klapmuts’s portrait better, I’d want to research the printmaking industry in the Netherlands at the time, as well as the artist's social background. These kinds of details help us to better understand the social structures of his time.